威斯康辛州公司, city of Madison join challenge to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 | 威斯康星州公共广播电台

威斯康辛州公司, a health system 和 the city of Madison are among more than 90 organizations that recently announced a commitment to cut their carbon emissions in half by 2030.

这一承诺是美国援助计划的一部分.S. 能源部的 更好的气候挑战 该计划旨在设定减少温室气体排放的目标, 分享解决方案并提供技术援助. 联合国科学家小组宣布了这一消息 受到警告的儿童可能会面临四倍的极端气候 in the future if temperatures rise just a few tenths of a degree more over current warming levels.

麦迪逊市, 华盛顿大学健康, Waupaca铸造, 哈雷-戴维森, 科尔的 和 江森自控 are among those that have committed to reducing emissions. 的 federal energy agency said the public-private partnership is part of reaching President Joe Biden’s 减排一半的目标 到2030年 到2050年净零排放.

科尔的, 哈雷-戴维森 和 江森自控 are pledging to cut their emissions by at least half in the next decade or sooner.

在麦迪逊市，该市已承诺将排放量减少一半 从2018年的基线开始 减少25%的能源消耗. 这个城市已经 设定目标 到2030年实现100%可再生能源和净零排放. 2019年，麦迪逊市议会批准了一项法案 9500万美元 计划到达那里.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said nearly 75 percent of electricity for city operations comes from renewable sources, 包括1.在城市建筑上安装了3兆瓦的太阳能.

"I'm absolutely confident that we're going to reach our goal of being 100 percent renewable energy for city operations by 2030,拉霍斯-康威说.

在其 2021年的计分卡, 美国节能经济委员会, 美国节能经济委员会或, said Madison was the most improved city out of 100 large 和 mid-size cities examined by the nonprofit group in terms of progress toward emissions 减少s 和 energy efficiency.

即便如此，ACEEE还是说这座城市 不太可能达到目标 到2030年实现运营净零排放. Rhodes-Conway对该组织数据的准确性提出了质疑. 斯蒂芬Samarripas, ACEEE的本地政策经理, acknowledged the organization examined emissions data that’s more than several years old.

"的 city has really been very active in pursuing a number of different initiatives aimed at reducing those emissions, 这需要一些时间, 在某些情况下, for those initiatives to really show up in terms of reduced energy use or reduced greenhouse gas emissions,萨马里帕斯说.

该市还将其车队作为交通运输部门进行电气化 占最大的份额 温室气体排放. 拉霍斯-康威表示，他们希望达到100% 电动公交车 在接下来的几年里，他们的快速交通系统.

麦迪逊还寻求到2050年在全市范围内实现净零排放. Rhodes-Conway 和 Samarripas highlighted the city’s limited ability to meet that goal due in part to state regulations. 例如, state building codes don’t allow communities to push more stringent energy efficiency requirements.

更新建筑规范是其中之一 建议 的政府. 托尼·埃弗斯的气候变化工作组. 州民主党人 提出了一揽子法案 last year that included a proposal to allow communities to go beyond state requirements, 但它并没有在共和党控制的立法机构中获得通过.

华盛顿大学健康 is examining its roughly 40 buildings to identify ways to improve energy efficiency 和 pinpoint facilities that produce the most emissions. 非营利性医疗系统致力于 减少一半的排放量，减少34%的能源消耗 从2020年开始.

玛丽Statz, 西澳大学健康学院能源管理项目主任, 说他们在更换旧设备, weatherizing facilities 和 reducing energy consumption where possible without impacting patient care.

She said the health system plans to break ground this year on a new ambulatory clinic across from 华盛顿大学健康 at the American Center hospital that incorporates energy efficiency in the design. 的 plans include 华盛顿大学健康’s first renewable energy installation with a 1 megawatt solar array on the top floor of the parking ramp.

“这真的是一个系统的方法, 我们要尽可能的瘦, 然后结合可再生能源,斯塔茨说。. “这是一个很高的标准，但我相信我们可以达到目标."

She noted obstacles remain as they work with medical equipment manufacturers for opportunities to reduce their energy use. Statz还强调，像威斯康星大学健康中心这样的非营利机构, 是免税的, are unable to utilize federal tax incentives to facilitate solar installations.

威尼斯注册送38元计划利用可再生能源，通过一个 非现场购电协议 either in Wisconsin or another state to offset emissions under its commitment, 根据马可·冈萨雷斯, 公司的能源经理.

"By offsetting or injecting renewable energy electricity equivalent to a portion of what we use here into the grid, 来自风能或太阳能项目, 我们将抵消我们在这里使用的电力,冈萨雷斯说。.

Gonzalez said Waupaca铸造 already had a goal to cut energy use 25 percent by 2020, reaching a 21% 减少. He said they plan to improve energy efficiency by an additional 10 percent 和 减少25%的温室气体排放 by 2030.

的 company plans to select a project this year that would offset energy use at its largest facility in Marinette. 他说，官员们希望它能在2024年建成并投入使用, but Gonzalez noted COVID-19 supply constraints may delay construction.

随着越来越多的公司 雄心勃勃的承诺 为了遏制排放，批评者对减排承诺持怀疑态度 依靠碳抵消项目 减少排放. 的 国际能源署 said the use of offsets could be a cost-effective mechanism 减少排放 but added that may divert money away from direct efforts to achieve 减少s.  

的 international energy forum said governments need to outline short-term targets 和 steps to reach net-zero emissions goals, 允许企业和其他利益相关者计划变革.

世界资源研究所, 一个全球性的研究机构, 可信的承诺涉及公司 制定5至10年的科学目标 that help them determine a path toward reducing emissions directly from their operations or indirectly from energy use or other sources like transportation.

汤姆·艾格特, a retired 可持续性 professor who taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 客户说, employees 和 investors are pushing businesses to make commitments to reduce their emissions.

“你一开始可能有很多 绿色清洗, but we've seen over time that the infrastructure gets created underneath those goals, 在这些目标之下, 非常可信, 当人们问他们在做什么时,埃格特说. “我会说威斯康星州的公司, 在美国的公司, companies around the world are on a continuum from complete 绿色清洗 at one end to complete transparency 和 viable targets on the other.”

He said companies who fail to set targets or release information about their 可持续性 goals can't do so without being punished by the market. 

Just a decade ago, only 20 percent of the largest publicly-traded companies in the U.S. 已发表的可持续发展报告, 根据治理与问责研究所的数据, 一家企业可持续发展咨询公司. 现在, 超过90% of those companies publish reports on their progress toward environmental, 社会和治理目标.